CStore Decisions May 2021

CStoreDecisions Solutions for Convenience Retailers

Beck Suppliers

®

Celebrates 70th Anniversary Culture plus investments in foodservice and technology position the company for success, now and for future generations.

INSIDE Rebel’s Refreshed Design Propels Brand Toward Expansion

14

Eagle Stop’s Siron Talks Foodservice Strategy

48

2021 Tech Innovation Awards

58 May 2021

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CStoreDecisions.com

CStoreDecisions

®

Solutions for Convenience Retailers

May 2021

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CStoreDecisions.com

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EDITORIAL

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Robert Buhler, President and CEO Open Pantry Food Marts • Pleasant Prairie, Wis. Lisa Dell’Alba, President and CEO Square One Markets • Bethlehem, Pa. Raymond Huff, President HJB Convenience Corp. • Lakewood, Colo.

Bill Kent, President and CEO The Kent Cos. Inc. • Midland, Texas Patrick Lewis, Managing Partner Oasis Stop ‘N Go • Twin Falls, Idaho Reilly Robinson Musser, VP, Marketing & Merchandising Robinson Oil Corp. • Santa Clara, Calif.

Bill Weigel, CEO Weigel’s Inc. • Knoxville, Tenn.

NATIONAL ADVISORY GROUP (NAG) BOARD Doug Galli (Board Chairman), Vice President/General Manager Reid Stores Inc./Crosby’s • Brockport, N.Y. Mary Banmiller, Director of Retail Operations Warrenton Oil Inc. • Truesdale, Mo. Greg Ehrlich, President Beck Suppliers Inc. • Fremont, Ohio Derek Gaskins, Senior VP, Merchandising/Procurement Yesway • Des Moines, Iowa Joe Hamza, Chief Operating Officer Nouria Energy Corp. • Worcester, Mass.

Brent Mouton, President and CEO Hit-N-Run Food Stores • Lafayette, La. Peter Tamburro, General Manager Clifford Fuel Co. • Marcy, N.Y. Vernon Young, President and CEO Young Oil Co. • Piedmont, Ala.

YOUNG EXECUTIVES ORGANIZATION (YEO) BOARD Jeremie Myhren (Board Chairman), Chief Information Officer Road Ranger • Rockford, Ill. Garet Bishop, Chief Financial Officer BFS Cos. • Morgantown, W.Va.

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Ryan Faville, Director of Purchasing Stewart’s Shops Corp. • Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Caroline Filchak, Director, Wholesale Operations Clipper Petroleum • Flowery Branch, Ga. Cole Fountain, Director of Merchandise Gate Petroleum Co. • Jacksonville, Fla.

Copyright 2021, WTWH Media, LLC

Kalen Frese, Food Service Director Warrenton Oil Inc. • Warrenton, Mo.

CStore Decisions (ISSN 1054-7797) is published monthly by WTWH Media, LLC., 1111 Superior Ave., Suite 2600, Cleveland, OH 44114, for petroleum company and convenience store operators, owners, managers. Qualified U.S. subscribers receive CStore Decisions at no charge. For others, the cost is $80 a year in the U.S. and Possessions, $95 in Canada, and $150 in all other countries. Single copies are available at $9 each in the U.S. and Possessions, $10 each in Canada and $13 in all other countries. Periodicals postage paid at Cleveland, OH, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CStore Decisions, 1111 Superior Avenue, 26th Floor, Cleveland, OH 44114. GST #R126431964, Canadian Publication Sales Agreement No: #40026880.

Alex Garoutte, Director of Marketing The Kent Cos. Inc. • Midland, Texas Sharif Jamal, Corporate Brand Manager Chestnut Petroleum Inc. • New Paltz, N.Y.

CSTORE DECISIONS does not endorse any products, programs or services of advertisers or editorial contributors. Copyright 2021 by WTWH Media, LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Circulation audited by Business Publications Audit of Circulation, Inc. ©

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CONTENTS May 2021

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Number 5

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Volume 32

CStoreDecisions

®

EDITOR’S MEMO

10 Post-Pandemic Hiring: Are You Ready?

FRONT END

14 Rebel’s Refreshed Design Propels Brand Toward Expansion 22 Quick Bites: The Road to Pandemic Recovery CATEGORY MANAGEMENT

34 Sweet Returns 38 Mixed Success for Snacks 42 Health, Beauty & Personal Care Product Outlook FOODSERVICE

44 C-Stores Accelerate Foodservice Technology 48 Eagle Stop’s Siron Talks Foodservice Strategy 52 Elevating Foodservice Packaging

COVER STORY

TECHNOLOGY

24 Beck Suppliers Celebrates

58 2021 Tech Innovation Awards 66 What Comes After Outdoor EMV? 68 Can You See the ROI Through the Looking Glass?

70th Anniversary

Culture plus investments in foodservice and technology position the company for success, now and for future generations.

58 8

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BACK END 72 Product Showcase 77 Ad Index 78 Industry Perspective: Reflections on Convenience Retail as We Near the Post-Pandemic Future

cstoredecisions.com

Editor’s Memo

For any questions about this issue or suggestions for future issues, please contact me at jlofstock@wtwhmedia.com.

Post-Pandemic Hiring: Are You Ready?

Since the height of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a shortage of skilled workers across all industries in the country.

You’ve likely experienced this shortage within your own organization — usually it’s a scarcity of frontline employees needed to man the registers, prepare food and keep shelves stocked. And if you’re a business owner, you’ve no doubt undergone an extensive selection processes to find the perfect candidates. This is a process repeated over and over at chains throughout the industry. However, while you may assume the skills shortage is to blame for the high number of open jobs, hiring expert Scott Wintrip, founder of Wintrip Consulting Group, said the real problem is businesses believe a dangerous set of myths around hiring, and these myths could be hurting your recruiting and hiring processes.

“In both good times and bad, there have never been enough qualified job candidates to go around,” said Wintrip, who is also the author of “High Velocity Hiring: How to Hire Top Talent in an Instant.” “But this talent shortage hasn’t stopped some companies from filling their jobs quickly and keeping them filled. These businesses aren’t just lucky. Rather, they have rejected the old ideas of hiring that continue to slow down many organizations today.”

Wintrip outlined four myths that hiring managers need to overcome to attract top talent.

• The skills shortage is the cause of hiring delays.

Hiring delays indicate a problem with the selection process, not a talent flow issue. Since there are never enough qualified candidates, savvy leaders have realized they can’t engage in the old way of hiring that involves keeping a job open until the right person shows up. Instead, these leaders have made fast, accurate hiring a strategic imperative.

They require managers to engage in the new way of hiring: actively cultivating top talent and then waiting for the right job to become available. A job becoming available is a when situation — not an if situation.

• Hiring is exclusively an HR function. While HR plays a vital role in hiring, retailers that fill jobs quickly understand hiring is a team sport. Instead of treating hiring 10

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as an HR function exclusively, the most successful companies view employee selection as a leadership function supported by HR (and the talent acquisition team, if there is one). Everyone has a role, and under this framing, hiring managers communicate and make hiring decisions swiftly, while HR and the talent acquisition team supply talent and facilitate the process. Everyone, from the top down, generates talent through networking and requesting referrals.

• You must hire slowly and fire quickly. This business cliché is almost always bad advice, Wintrip said. Chains that are slow to hire operate out of fear of making a bad choice. They have experienced the consequences of poor hiring. To avoid this mistake, they slow down the hiring process, believing speed and accuracy are mutually exclusive.

As a result, talented candidates move on, and open jobs remain open. To counter this myth, progressive leaders have adopted a new mantra: Be fast to hire and quick to inspire. They mandate a hiring process that promotes rapid decision-making and the nurturing of employee relationships.

• This is how it’s always been done, so it must be right. Many organizations keep doing things the same way, even if that way is ineffective.

For example, some companies have unwritten rules, such as reviewing a slate of eight to 10 candidates before hiring, even when a highly qualified candidate is identified among the first few candidates.

“Be willing to change and evolve because you may get impressive results by trying something new,” Wintrip said. “The skilled worker shortage will only become more noticeable in the future. As globalization increases, borders will matter less, creating a talent competition unlike anything we’ve ever seen. It’s crucial to disengage from those myths around hiring that prevent you from efficiently finding good employees.”

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FRONT END Profile

Rebel’s Refreshed Design

Propels Brand Toward Expansion

Rebel eyes national growth as it converts its stores to a new design and embarks on technology initiatives from a mobile app and loyalty program to frictionless checkout.

Erin Del Conte • Executive Editor

Six years after acquiring the Rebel convenience store brand, Upland, Calif.-based Anabi Oil is embarking on an ambitious remodel, with plans to revamp half of its 400-plus convenience stores in California and Nevada in under five years, bringing them under a refreshed Rebel design. Simultaneously, it’s preparing to expand its footprint outside of California and Nevada to the Midwest and East Coast.

This summer, Rebel is set to introduce a mobile app featuring its new Rebel Coin loyalty program, as well as order-ahead and delivery options in-app.

What’s more, Anabi Oil is strategizing new drive-through stores and autonomous-checkout locations, all while growing its proprietary pizza and taco foodservice offerings, which customers can customize to their specifications.

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FRONT END Profile

Rebel is set to renovate half of its 400-plus convenience stores in California and Nevada in under five years, unifying the stores under an updated Rebel design. The chain also has plans for frictionless checkout.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Anabi Oil began in 1991, when Founder Sam Anabi opened his first gas station in Baldwin Park, Calif. In 1995, Sam married Rene Anabi, who became a co-owner and vice president in the business. Over the years, the company grew its footprint across California. In 2010, Anabi Oil became a Shell wholesaler, and today the company is one of the largest Shell-branded fuel distributors in California.

By 2015, Anabi Oil had grown via acquisitions to more than 220 sites in California when it announced it was purchasing the Rebel convenience stores brand from Rebel Oil. The acquisition included 60 Las Vegas-based Rebel c-stores. Anabi Oil set its sights on creating an updated brand design for the Rebel stores with plans to extend the new branding to its existing locations in California.

The company partnered with design firm Paragon Solutions to craft the refreshed brand design for the Rebel chain, selecting an existing Food Mart in San Dimas, Calif., as the first site to be remodeled with the new Rebel image. The chain razed and rebuilt the San Dimas location, which opened its doors in August 2019, debuting the new Rebel brand to the public.

DESIGN FORWARD

To date, three Las Vegas stores and two California sites have been remodeled under the new Rebel design, with five more Las Vegas sites currently 16

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under renovation. Anabi plans to convert all existing California sites to the new Rebel design by the end of 2022. Updated Rebel locations measure between 2,000-5,000 square feet.

“Our mission is that we want to embody spontaneity, growth and freedom to express your true self.

This is what we’re committed to doing in all the communities that we serve,” said Rene Anabi.

The mission statement led to the chain’s new tagline, “Your store, your way,” which is carried into the external and internal designs, as well as Rebel’s approach to foodservice.

Under the new design, the exterior of the store features the name Rebel in large white letters against a gray background and stone façade, and all buildings feature the “Your store, your way” slogan on the outside of the building. Some sites will feature the Rebel logo, or the message “You’ll love R tacos” or “You’ll love R pizza” depending on the food offering available.

The forecourt includes LED lighting under the canopy and all new fuel dispensers, plus at least two electric vehicle charging stations at each new site, as well as alternative fueling options, such as racing fuel, E85 and hydrogen.

Locations fly a range of gas flags, including Shell, Mobil, Rebel fuel, Sunoco and 76. Rebel is also rebranding its 50-plus car washes to the Rebel Wash banner.

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FRONT END Profile

Inside, an energizing lime-green color appears throughout the store on signage and design elements. The words “Beer Hive” welcome customers to the beer cave, while a lime-green geometric design extended from the ceiling highlights the coffee bar.

Inside, an energizing lime-green color appears throughout the store on signage and design elements.

The words “Beer Hive” welcome customers to the beer cave, while a lime-green geometric design extended from the ceiling highlights the coffee bar area.

The open concept and bright LED lighting combined with the high ceilings provide a spacious, clean and welcoming appearance.

A major goal in the design was creating a one-stop shop by extending the traditional c-store offering to include an array of grocery store items, plus an extensive beer cave offering that includes a selection of craft beer as well as champagne and high-end wine.

“Instead of a four-pack of eggs, we wanted to offer a dozen so that customers can eliminate a stop at the grocery market on their way home,” Anabi said. “We offer full gallons of milk, cases of water, full-sized toiletry items, hot food for dinner and nitro cold-brew coffee for your morning commute.”

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Rebel also features a dedicated organic grocery aisle and is increasing its offering of better-for-you products.

FOOD FOCUS

Food is a destination point in the new design. Rebel features two different proprietary food concepts — an unbranded taco bar or a Pinsa Pizza program, depending on location. Both programs are build-your-own concepts using fresh ingredients, further tying into the slogan “Your store, your way.” The pizza program is named “Pinsa” after the type of crust used for the pizza. A 12-inch Pinsa Oval Crust Pizza is just $8.95, and customers can select from a range of sauces and toppings.

The coffee section features an extensive menu, including the aforementioned nitro cold-brew coffee on draft, as well as made-to-order drip coffee, hot and iced options and bean-to-cup coffee dispensers. Currently, about half of the company’s stores feature the extended coffee section.

Customers can also refresh with made-to-order milkshakes, selecting from more than 10 ice cream flavors.

And shoppers can have it all delivered right to their front doors.

“Delivery is going to be our main focus,” Anabi said.

“We wanted to offer curbside pickup for all the stores, and we’re also working with (third-party) delivery programs. All our stores are either on Uber Eats, Postmates, Grubhub or DoorDash. We wanted to provide our customers different options to get what they want in the most convenient way.”

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FRONT END Profile

Rebel’s Pinsa pizza program and taco program allow customers to design their own pizza or tacos to their preferences, fitting with the brand’s slogan, “Your store, your way.”

Rebel also features a range of private-label products, such as bottled water and beef jerky. Proceeds from Rebel’s private-label products benefit charities, including the Anabi Family Foundation, a not-forprofit, section 501(c)(3) corporation the company began 13 years ago, which benefits local charities.

EMBRACING NEW TECHNOLOGY

In Q2, Rebel is launching its proprietary Rebel Coin loyalty program and mobile app. The pointsbased loyalty program allows members to earn points for each dollar they spend inside the store or at the pump. Points can then be redeemed for a wide variety of products. Customers can sign up for the loyalty program through the mobile app using their phone number.

Inside the Rebel app, customers will also be able to place mobile orders for pickup or delivery.

Through the mobile app, customers can pay for gas or groceries with Apple Pay or PayPal, and the chain expects to begin offering Venmo and Zelle as payment options by the end of Q3.

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Self-checkout options are also on the schedule in the back half of 2021. Rebel is partnering with mobile app-based selfcheckout company SKIP. It’s also adding self-checkout kiosks similar to those seen in grocery stores.

In Q3 of 2022, Rebel is introducing its first drive-through location at an existing Los Angeles-based Rebel convenience store, with plans to roll out a total of five drive-through sites, plus four additional fully autonomous stores throughout California, Las Vegas and Florida in the same quarter.

“To us, this is the future,” Anabi said. “We definitely want to attract the younger generation — the millennials — and we want to gear our stores toward that everyday commuter, who is in a rush. If we want to be there — if we want to be tech savvy — we need to be constantly innovating and creating different ideas for how we can bring consumers to our stores and get them out in a reasonable time.

It’s all about speed, convenience and value to our customer base. And that’s what we’re really trying to grow on each day.”

EXPANSION PLANS

As Rebel works to rebrand 200-plus locations to its new Rebel design in under five years, the 400-store chain is also looking to grow its fleet of convenience stores nationally.

“We’re going to expand our Rebel brand outside Nevada and outside California,” Anabi said.

And the chain isn’t restricting its footprint to the Western U.S. “We are also planning acquisitions on the East Coast and also in the Midwest,” she noted.

Anabi explained that Rebel is focused on growing both organically as well as through new acquisitions.

“We’re constantly growing,” she said. “Almost every year, we bring on anywhere from 50 to 100 new sites. So, we are focused on expansion.”

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quickBites THE ROAD TO PANDEMIC RECOVERY A year into the pandemic, many customers are starting to see the finish line, while others are proceeding with caution heading into May. Customers are considering vaccines and summer travel plans amid the backdrop of a potential fourth wave and social distancing fatigue.

PANDEMIC ALTERS SUMMER PLANS Nearly 28% of customers have decided not to travel this summer due to the pandemic, while another 10% canceled their summer travel plans.

MONITORING CUSTOMER SENTIMENT

How has the pandemic affected your summer vacation travel plans?

I’ve chosen not 28% to plan any travel I’ve canceled 10% my travel plans

A survey by Nielsen found more customers are feeling optimistic about emerging from the pandemic and getting back to life as usual.

It hasn’t affected my travel plans 40%

• U.S. citizens who are ‘ready to go’ peaked at 61% in the March 2021 survey compared with 34% in April 2020. Other groups include those who are ‘proceeding with caution’ and those who continue to take a ‘wait and see’ approach due to the pandemic.

I’m not sure 22% Source: CivicScience survey, 2,989 responses 3/29/2021 to 4/05/2021

10 15 20 25 30 CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR0 5 TRENDS

35 40

• 82% reported that stores that were closed in their area have started to open again vs. 40% in April of last year.

While more customers are returning to the office, new habits like delivery are continuing for some.

• 64% said they perceive that it is safer than it was a month ago, compared to 38% in April 2020.

• 72% agreed their town is starting to emerge from the crisis vs. 44% a year ago.

• Among the employed, two-thirds now work outside the home, up nearly 70% since April 2020.

Source: Nielsen online survey administered among a weighted sample of 1,009 adults 18+ in the U.S. between March 11-15, 2021

• Nearly eight in 10 are now getting items delivered that they ordered online compared with seven in 10 before the pandemic.

• Nearly three in 10 consumers expect to do more in-store shopping in the months ahead compared with the 11% who expect to do less.

OUTLOOK FOR ‘BACK TO NORMAL’ A February 2021 NPD Group survey found:

• Nearly 60% of U.S. consumers anticipate returning to pre-pandemic leisure travel within the next year.

Source: Nielsen online survey administered among a weighted sample of 1,009 adults 18+ in the U.S. between March 11-15, 2021

• For Americans with children, half expect to return to pre-pandemic activity levels with their kids — like movies, theme parks and vacations — within the next five months, or have done so already.

VACCINE DECISIONS

By early April, one-third of the U.S. population had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CivicScience found one in four Americans were undecided or ‘on the fence’ about receiving a vaccine.

• More than one-third of U.S. consumers anticipate working from home at least one day a week in the next six to 12 months.

• 20% of consumers reported they will only host larger group gatherings with family or friends once they are vaccinated.

If you don’t plan on getting the COVID-19 vaccine, why?

I generally don’t get vaccines 13% I’m concerned about the side effects 14% I don’t think I need it I think vaccines were developed and tested too quickly I don’t know enough about how well they work Other

11% 29% 10%

22% Source: CivicScience survey, 1,591 respondents from 3/26/2021 to 4/26/2021

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Source: The NPD Group / February 2021 Omnibus

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Beck Suppliers

BECK SUPPLIERS CELEBRATES 70TH ANNIVERSARY Culture plus investments in foodservice and technology position the company for success, now and for future generations.

John Lofstock • Editor-in-Chief

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“Honest products and friendly service at a fair price.”

If that sounds to you like the values of a business from a long-ago era, you’d be right. But it’s also the operating principle of one of the most successful family-owned businesses in Ohio — a Fremont-based company founded in 1950 that recently celebrated its 70th anniversary.

Beck Suppliers is one of the largest independent petroleum suppliers and convenience store operators in the Buckeye state. Founded by farmer Virgil Beck, the company had a humble beginning as a supplier of fuels and lubricants for surrounding farms. Its founding philosophy of “honest products, friendly service, at a fair price,” plus Virgil’s commitment to hard work, long days and little rest, earned the fledgling company the loyalty of area farmers and the customer base needed to survive and thrive.

cstoredecisions.com

Virgil Beck, company founder, began Beck Suppliers as a supplier of fuels and lubricants for surrounding farms in 1950. The company is now celebrating its 70th anniversary, with the fourth generation of the family playing a key role today.

May 2021 •

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Virgil Beck’s son Bill Beck and his sons, the third generation, surrounding him (from left): Brian, Doug and Dean. The decision to bring in the third generation of Becks in the late 1980s was critical to transforming the company and helping it grow into the future.

In the early 1960s, Virgil brought in his sons Bill and Larry to join him in running his growing enterprise. The sons would go on to work at the company for over four decades. Bill Beck would eventually go on to take the reins of the company from his father in 1982. Bill’s leadership transformed the modest firm his father founded into a business with staying power.

Key to the transformation was Bill’s decision to bring in the third generation of Becks in the late 1980s — his sons Doug, Brian and Dean. All three brothers learned the business from the bottom up, which was critical to their professional development and, ultimately, the success of the company. Over the next three decades, they would each make essential contributions that would help bring unprecedented growth to Beck Suppliers.

GROWING A BUSINESS

Bill, aware that he needed a succession plan, readied Doug Beck to take the helm as president of Beck Suppliers in 2000. Doug successfully led the transition of the company from a small, growing concern into a meaningful enterprise with diverse and synergistic business units.

Bill then enlisted Brian to open the first FriendShip convenience store in 1986. Brian started with one store and successfully shaped and grew the retail business over the next 35 years. FriendShip is now the leading family-owned convenience store in all of Ohio, with 27 locations across northern Ohio from the Cleveland suburbs to Toledo and south toward Columbus.

The third stage saw Dean help develop, expand and lead the branded fuels division through organic growth and multiple strategic acquisitions. A supplier 26

CSTORE DECISIONS •

May 2021

of gas and diesel to independent fuel retailers and convenience stores, Beck Branded Fuels has transformed into one of the largest independent suppliers of fuels in the state.

Today, Beck Suppliers is a vertically integrated fuel services company with five strategic business units, plus a transportation division that is the backbone of the company’s fuel supply chain. The fourth generation of Becks is now in training to lead the business — a line of family succession that goes back 70 years.

Each generation had made its mark, handing over the reins of leadership and a company that was more successful than when it started.

Now, the family patriarchs, Brian and Dean Beck (Doug passed away in early 2018), understand that with constant and rapid growth and success come new challenges. It’s fitting that the brothers, who grew up along the shores of Lake Erie, know that different weather conditions sometimes require a different ship captain.

For the first time in company history, the Becks reached outside the family for leadership.

The new captain is Greg Ehrlich, a longtime convenience store and independent fuel retailing executive. Doug Beck hired Ehrlich in 2017 to be chief operating officer, and after Doug’s passing, Brian and Dean promoted Ehrlich to president. The brothers charged him with continuing Doug’s Greg Ehrlich, president, and work of bringing in talented and experienced management, as well Bob Carnicom, CFO, of Beck Suppliers as driving the strategic, orderly

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Beck Suppliers

Olivia Beck (Doug’s daughter), Dean Beck, Brian Beck and Chelsea Carvalho in the first new-toindustry FriendShip Kitchen in Elyria, Ohio.

growth of the company. Perhaps just as importantly, Ehrlich is mentoring fourthgeneration Olivia Beck, special projects manager, and Chelsea Carvalho, district manager, to be the future leaders of Beck Suppliers.

“Greg not only brings deep industry knowledge and experience that benefits our company, but he shares the values that have helped make Beck Suppliers the company it is today,” said Dean Beck. “We know our brother Doug, dad and grandfather would approve.”

As an example, in 2017 Ehrlich partnered with HR Director June Bouillon to launch a “Great Place to Work” (GPTW) program throughout the entire company. GPTW brings together people from all areas of the company to evaluate, design and implement programs to ensure that Beck Suppliers continues on its journey to provide an exceptional workplace experience.

The original Beck Suppliers business, now called Beck Propane & Fuels, has expanded its scope over its 70 years of operation and delivers heating and commercial fuels to farms, enterprises and residences in

north-central Ohio. Under the leadership of Russell Lewis, this core business has experienced steady, profitable growth by focusing on customer service, operational efficiencies and dependability.

EYE TOWARD THE FUTURE

FriendShip convenience stores were the first new business the Becks started back in 1986. Brian Beck, who built the retail chain to nearly 30 stores, said, “I am thrilled with the direction we are heading. We have focused on recruiting exceptional talent that is transforming FriendShip to meet the needs of a new generation of convenience store shoppers.”

The brand’s operations are now led by former Sunoco executive Gregg Edwards, who plays a key role in the pivot from a conventional convenience store and retail fuel model to a “food first” enterprise, complete with rebranding, store upgrades and the launch of FriendShip Kitchen.

The “Kitchen” concept recenters the focus of the

The FriendShip Kitchen concept recenters the focus of the business onto freshly prepared, restaurant-quality meals and add-ons that are a significant upgrade from traditional convenience store fare.

The stores have come a long way since they started in 1986 (as pictured in the bottom right image).

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Beck Suppliers

The original Beck Suppliers business, now called Beck Propane & Fuels, has expanded its scope over its 70 years of operation and delivers heating and commercial fuels to farms, enterprises and residences in north-central Ohio.

business onto freshly prepared, restaurant-quality meals and add-ons that are a significant upgrade from traditional convenience store fare. FriendShip also enlisted former Wawa food and beverage veteran Ed Burcher to conceptualize and launch the expanded menu, brand and operational transformation, and last year brought in Kirk Mathews from TravelCenters of America to shepherd and scale it.

Now, 14 of the 27 c-stores are branded FriendShip Kitchen, with plans to add more through expansion to new markets and remodeling of existing locations.

“There is a significant opportunity with this new concept in our traditional geographic footprint, but we see a broader need in new markets,” Brian Beck said.

To that end, the latest FriendShip Kitchen opened in Delaware, Ohio, in June of last year, which extends the chain’s footprint south toward Columbus. “The new concept is doing extremely well. Customers who have never experienced the FriendShip brand are telling us they love what we bring to their market,” Beck added.

With FriendShip stores a prominent internal customer, Beck Branded Fuels was launched as a logical extension of the original propane and fuels business, with the mission of delivering quality branded fuels to independent fuel retailers and convenience stores.

Today, Beck Branded Fuels is led by BP-veteran Joe Rosso, who was hired by Dean Beck in 2013. Rosso’s experience has led to improvements in business processes, the adoption of essential technologies and the realignment of organizational and logistics structures that has propelled the business unit to be one of the leading and largest independent wholesalers in the state.

“Joe started out as our first dealer sales represen30

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tative,” Dean Beck said. “Prior to that, I was the only person in this division. Since then, we have expanded the business five-fold, and Joe is now our vice president of branded fuels leading a team of five very talented branded fuels specialists.”

Interestingly, Beck Suppliers’ current Chief Financial Officer Bob Carnicom was once a Beck Branded Fuels customer. Then-President Bill Beck convinced the former convenience store operator to install tanks and buy his gas and diesel from Beck Branded Fuels.

The two developed a close business and personal relationship. Bill eventually recruited Carnicom to join Beck Suppliers back in 1996, who has since held increasing levels of responsibility during his tenure and is the only employee to have as broad an institutional memory and understanding of the heritage and inner workings of the company as any member of the Beck family.

“I’ve seen a lot of change in my two-plus decades with the company, but what is happening now is inspiring,” Carnicom said. “We continue to grow, we have an amazing and talented management team, and the entire organization is excited for what the future has in store.”

Stemming from the company’s three growing fuelbased businesses, Beck Suppliers was contracting multiple outside vendors for a steady stream of business to satisfy the need for installing and maintaining fuel storage and dispensing systems.

In response, and as an additional growth opportunity, former President Doug Beck launched the company’s fourth business unit, Beck Fuel Systems. Now, all the work formerly contracted to third-party businesses is handled internally by Beck Fuel Systems,

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Beck Suppliers

Fourth-generation members of the Beck family, Olivia Beck and Chelsea Carvalho, are learning about the company from the ground up. Beck is focused on the transportation division today, while Carvalho is focused on the expansion of the FriendShip Kitchen brand.

which today has evolved into a leading contractor in north-central Ohio for the construction, installation and removal of fuel systems, as well as the development of entire fueling facilities. The business unit is headed by Lee Beckman, who joined the company in 2005 and has held a series of progressively critical roles over his 15 years with Beck. Beckman also heads up Beck Car Wash Systems — its fifth and latest business unit expansion.

NEXT-GENERATION LEADERSHIP

Just like every preceding family member who entered the business, Olivia Beck and Chelsea Carvalho are learning about the company from the ground up.

It’s a more complicated enterprise than ever before, and the challenge to fully experience and understand key aspects of the business has a steep learning curve.

“There is so much to learn,” Carvalho said. “At times, it’s a humbling experience, but Olivia and I are fortunate to be surrounded by experienced mentors and a supportive family.”

With an eye toward learning the entire industry, the company has structured a rotation program to prepare the two next-generation family members for future leadership. Carvalho is currently focused on the 32

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expansion of the FriendShip Kitchen brand, and Olivia Beck’s getting her arms around the complexity of the Transportation Division, after spending her first three years in the Branded Fuels Division.

Brian and Dean Beck are not only helping to train the next generation to run the business, but they are also setting an example of how important it is to give back to the community. As a local family and a company employing and serving local people, those who work at Beck Suppliers know many of their customers personally — sending children to the same schools, volunteering alongside them and together giving back to the communities in which they work and live.

Beck Suppliers is an active sponsor of the regional Make-A-Wish foundation, has partnered with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation for over 10 years, and is generous with charitable contributions and encouraging employee volunteerism in the towns and cities in the region. In total, over the past five years, the company has raised and donated over $2 million to charitable organizations.

TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS

One area keeping Beck Suppliers on its toes is the rapid pace of technological innovation. Not one to shy away from challenges, the company has embraced innovation across all its business units.

From adding remote telemetry monitors on propane tanks to improve efficiency, to adding cameras on its transport tankers to improve safety, new technologies are constantly being tested and adopted. Of all its business units, the FriendShip division has experienced the most technological change over the past five years.

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INTRODUCING

Beck Suppliers has seen major evolution over the past 70 years, growing from a fuels and lubricants supplier to a convenience store chain with 27 stores with a focus on quality foodservice.

Salted Caramel • Peanut Butter • Fudge Unwrap and enjoy...

10 sec.

or heat at home!

Working with Paytronix Systems, the company recently integrated online ordering and curbside pickup with its award-winning FriendShip Rewards program.

This was not a planned change, but one this nimble 70-year-old company pivoted to in response to rapidly shifting consumer preferences driven by the pandemic.

Other recent projects include the conversion of its retail back-office system to PDI in 2019 and the upgrade of its store video systems in 2020 to provide enhanced analytics and improve the overall guest experience.

So how has this company survived and thrived for 70 years? Most of us are familiar with family business failure rates: 30% of businesses make it through the second generation, only 10-15% through the third, and just 3-5% through the fourth. The constant has been Virgil Beck’s founding philosophy of honest products, friendly service and fair prices. The other critical success factor is the tradition of responsibly training and transferring responsibility for the stewardship of the company from one generation to the next.

“Chelsea and I have an important responsibility to our family members who built this business, and more importantly, to the employees who count on Beck Suppliers for their livelihood,” Olivia Beck said.

The Beck family serves as another case study on how family businesses are the backbone of the convenience store industry and how, through hard work and great leadership, they can overcome the odds to become successful industry leaders.

The company credits its focus on preparing the next generation for leadership and teaching managers at all levels that taking care of and being fair to your employees, customers and the communities you serve is the most important of all the values. CSD

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May 2021 •

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CSTORE DECISIONS

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Category Management | Candy

Sweet Returns Innovation in the candy category offers big opportunity for sales, as customers start to resume life as usual after a year of lockdowns.

Howard Riell • Contributing Editor

After a year of pandemic caution, customers are looking toward summer and taking steps to resume normal life as more shoppers receive the COVID-19 vaccine and venture out, offering new opportunities for the candy category to help sweeten post-pandemic life.

The candy category’s gum and mint segment faced a challenging 2020 as customers wore masks and socially distanced and, as a result, worried less about purchasing products to assist with fresh breath. But in spring 2021, the segment is already seeing a comeback at convenience stores now that customers are returning to shop in person, according to Heather Key, consumables buyer for the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES).

“Bottle packs and larger packs continue to sell well, and fruity gum flavors are winning, too,” Key noted. “Trident Vibes gum bottle packs are hot sellers.”

Still, customers are making fewer trips, which means they’re opting to purchase larger packs of gum and mints. Meanwhile, in the chocolate category, iconic brands such as Reese’s and Snickers remain top-sellers at AAFES locations.

AAFES’ 122 main stores and 589 Express convenience stores will soon introduce Rev Gum, a caffeinated gum that freshens breath without the bitter taste of caffeine. The chain is also set to relaunch Simply Gum and Simply Mints; the all-natural products feature “fun” flavors and no synthetics or artificial sweeteners.

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Category Management | Candy

Gum & Mints Struggle Amid Pandemic While Confections Climb Gum dollar sales dropped 27.2% and mints fell 25.7% for the 52 weeks ending Feb. 27, 2021, per Nielsen Total U.S. Convenience Store data, as the pandemic changed shopping habits. Meanwhile, confections climbed while chocolate experienced gains as customers treated themselves.

Dollar Sales

1-Year % Change

Candy/gum/mints

$5.7 B

1.0%

Chocolate

$2.7 B

5.5%

Confections

$2.1 B

11.6%

Gum

$639 M

27.2%

Mints

$176 M

-25.7%

Source: Nielsen Consumer LLC, Total U.S. Convenience Store Channel, For The 52 weeks ending Feb. 27, 2021

Key noted that gums marketed as being all-natural, low-sugar, non-GMO and/or as having no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners are resonating with customers and driving sales in the gum segment.

“These features are attracting shoppers more than ever before,” she said.

CHANGING HABITS

While product knowledge is essential, so is keeping close tabs on shifting consumer trends. “Right now, we are seeing our non-chocolate and take-home candy packaging trending,”said Nik DiMambro, category manager for Worcester, Mass.-based Nouria Energy Corp., which has 163 total locations (146 are company operated) in five New England states. “As our guests’ shopping habits changed, we changed our product availability with them.”

Nouria recently launched a line of private-label chocolate bars, partnering with Herbert Candies to develop a premium chocolate that offers value to guests. The chain also introduced a line of private-label penny candy.

“The penny candy pulls at our guests’ feeling of nostalgia. When a guest sees candies that they have not seen since they were a kid, like strawberry laces, sour belts and Runts, it brings them to another place,” said DiMambro.

The key to boosting sales for the chain has been a commitment to stocking the latest innovations in the category.

“Our guests love the feeling of finding treasure,” said DiMambro. “With new products coming in all the time, there is always that excitement of what they will find next.”

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PREMIUM OPTIONS

Peter Kempton Jr., category manager for Westlake, Ohiobased TravelCenters of America, has his eye on the “yet untapped” emerging trend of premium candy preferences.

“You have a mix of people treating themselves throughout the pandemic and a large younger generation with disposable income who will spend money. If they want good chocolate, they will pay for it,” Kempton said, adding there’s room to grow this segment in the c-store channel.

As for mints and gum, Kempton and his colleagues have also noted the trend toward larger pack types.

“Through the pandemic, people were making fewer visits to the store and stocking up their pantries more,” he said.

“As a result, we saw good movement on larger pack types.

They were buying more items in larger sizes.”

Indeed, Kempton has seen a lot of the companies moving toward larger pack sizes.

“You are seeing the mega-plastic packs with 35 sticks of gum; they hold up better,” he said. “(So do) the bottle packs that can fit in car cups.”

As a result, Kempton’s seen the number of units sold dropping, but sales remain steady. CSD

fast facts: • Gum could make a rebound as customers return to stores and reach for larger pack sizes.

• C-stores eye premium candy as an opportunity.

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Product

Category Management | Snacks

Mixed Success

for Snacks As meat snack sales soar, salty and sweet snacks struggle.

Marilyn Odesser-Torpey • Associate Editor

A year into the pandemic, consumer cravings for meat snacks have kept the snack category’s sales on an upward trajectory. At the same time, the overall salty snack segment has seen little movement, while sweet snacks have struggled for sales.

Meat snack sales increased 12.6% in the 52-week period ending Feb. 27, 2021, according to Nielsen Total U.S. Convenience data. Jerky sales alone climbed 17.5%.

At GetGo, which has 269 locations across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and Maryland, meat snack dollars sales have grown by double digits. Megan Chmura, GetGo director of center store, said sales probably could’ve been even higher if it hadn’t been for availability issues and production concerns related to the pandemic.

“We have seen customers trading up to larger packages — 10-plus ounces — in the past year, with the larger ring helping to boost sales dollars,” she said. “But with questionable availability continuing throughout the spring and summer, I’m fearful of being able to meet our guests’ needs during our peak sales season.”

Nouria Energy Corp., with 163 total locations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire and Connecticut, has also seen significant growth in the meat snack category, up 21% in revenues in 2020 and 21% in 2021 Q1 over last year, according to Badih El-Nemr, the chain’s category manager. With inventory challenges in lower-priced meat sticks this past year, Nouria’s customers have been trading up to premium jerky snacks in the grab-and-go bags.

Joseph Bortner, center store category manager for Rutter’s, which has 79 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia, described meat snack sales so far in 2021 as “exploding.”

“We’ve been able to leverage some regional brands to help drive the category where other brands have experienced issues keeping up with demand,” he said.

fast facts: • Meat snack sales grew 12.6% at c-stores in the 52 weeks ending Feb. 27, 2021, per Nielsen.

• In salty snacks, larger take-home bags have helped retailers recoup sales, as single-serve sales declined.

Category Management | Smokeless

Snack Sales Down Amid Pandemic

Meat snacks and rice cakes proved bright spots in convenience store snack sales for the 52 weeks ending Feb. 27, 2021, per Nielsen data.

SALTY SALES

In the salty snack category, Nielsen revealed that potato chips and pork rinds have taken the biggest hits, declining 4.9% and 12.5% respectively. The rest of the category has remained relatively flat.

While Chmura agreed that salty snack sales have been flat, the pandemic saw a shift in product mix in the potato chip category, with increases in larger take-home bags.

The stores moved single-serve packages to high-impulse areas. However, she pointed out, none of this was enough to offset the loss in sales of single-serve bags that she attributes to the decline in foot traffic and foodservice transactions around the lunch hour.

So far this year, revenues in salty snacks at Nouria are trending up. El-Nemr explained that the increase is driven by new everyday low-price promotions on wellknown brands.

“This program has generated positive growth for us” El-Nemr said. “Although we’re selling a little less in units, we’re making more revenue per product sold because of the upsell to bigger pack sizes and premium brands.”

Last year, Rutter’s experienced a shift in the salty snack category from instant consumables to larger, take-home packaging, Bortner said.

“So far this year, the increase in take-home packaging sales has been sustained, while instant consumable bags have bounced back in full force,” he said.

Dollar Sales

% Change in Dollar Sales Vs. Previous Year

Description

(Latest 52-week period ending 02/27/21)

Salty Snacks

$6.95 B

-0.8%

Cheese Snacks

$669 M

-4.2%

Corn Chips

$411 M

-3.5%

Meat Snacks

$1.66 B

12.6%

Jerky (falls under meat snacks)

$614 M

17.5%

(Latest 52-week period ending 02/27/21)

Multigrain Snacks

$82.5 M

2.2%

Onion Snacks

$192 M

0.5%

Pita Chips

$2.74 M

-34.4%

Popcorn

$257 M

-0.6%

Pork Rinds

$187 M

-12.5%

Potato Chips

$1.72 B

-4.9%

Pretzels

$163 M

0.3%

Pretzel Chips

$22 M

-30.4%

Rice Cakes

$1.45M

134.8%

Snack Mixes

$421 M

-10.3%

Tortilla Chips

$1.06 B

-2.2%

Vegetable-Based Salty Snacks

$37 M

-9.9%

Snack & Variety Packs

$6.95 B

-0.8%

Cookies

$669 M

-4.2%

Crackers

$411 M

-3.5%

Sweet Snacks

$1.9 B

-1.9%

Brownies

$57 M

-15.0%

Snack Cakes

$408 M

-2.1%

Cinnamon and Other Sweet Rolls

$65 M

-5.0%

SWEET OPPORTUNITY

Coffee Cakes

$44 M

13.8%

Sweet snacks are down 1.9% over the 52 weeks ending Feb. 27, 2021, with snack cake dollar sales decreasing 2.1% and granola bars falling 20.2%, per Nielsen data.

But at GetGo, sweet packaged snack sales are on the rise, despite the downturn in dispensed coffee sales caused by the pandemic, Chmura said.

“We’ve seen people eat their stress within the past year, with strong growth in sweet packaged snacks,” she said.

Bortner reported that Rutter’s has also seen “a steady growth” in sweet snacks and foresees “the biggest summer ever” for the overall snack category. CSD

Cookies

$92 M

-15.8%

Cupcakes

$119 M

12.4%

Dessert Bars

$88 M

-5.7%

Doughnuts

$511 M

-0.4%

Muffins

$157 M

-4.7%

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Pies

$100 M

10.5%

Cereal & Granola

$191 M

-7.0%

Granola Bars

$57 M

-20.2%

Source: Nielsen Consumer LLC, Total U.S. Convenience Store Channel, for the 52 weeks ending Feb. 27, 2021 cstoredecisions.com

Category Management | Health & Beauty Aids

Health, Beauty & Personal Care

Product Outlook Erin Del Conte • Executive Editor

HAND SANITIZER SALES SKYROCKET

ARE YOU USING HAND SANITIZER MORE OFTEN, ABOUT THE SAME, OR LESS OFTEN NOW THAN YOU WERE SIX MONTHS AGO?

Hand sanitizer dollar sales at convenience stores have climbed 881.4% during the pandemic, per Nielsen.

57%

60 60 50 50 40 40

$ sales for the 52 weeks ending 02/29/2020

$8.19 M

$ sales for the 52 weeks ending 02/27/2021

$80.4 M

% change $ sales for the 52 weeks ending 02/29/2020

13.6%

26%

30 30

% change $ sales for the 52 weeks ending 02/27/2021

16%

20 20

881.4%

10 10 0

0

Source: Nielsen, Total U.S. Convenience data, product share basis for the 52 weeks ending Feb. 29, 2020 and Feb. 27, 2021

About the same amount

More often

Less often

Source: CivicScience, 4,861 responses from 04/09/2021 to 04/14/2021

CUSTOMER INTEREST IN PERSONAL CARE PRODUCT INNOVATION Mintel predicted that the soap, bath and shower products market would exceed $9 billion in 2020 retail sales, an increase of 39.9% from 2019. But as the pandemic recovery phase begins, Mintel pointed out that innovation in the category such as added skincare benefits and mood-boosting qualities will become important.

Customers were asked, “Which of the following describes your interest and willingness to spend more (compared to your normal products) for these soap, bath and shower products?”

Hand soap that improves skin’s appearance Hand sanitizer with added skincare benefits Products that have mood-boosting qualities

44%

44%

11%

44%

43%

14%

40%

35%

26%

Base: 1,970 internet users aged 18+ who use soap, bath and shower products

n I’m interested in trying and would be willing to pay more for it n I’m interested in trying but would not be willing to pay more for it n I’m not interested in trying

Source: Mintel, “ Soap, Bath and Shower Products US, February 2021”

SNAPSHOT OF HBA DOLLAR SALES PERCENT CHANGE AT C-STORES Cosmetics and health aids at convenience stores saw mixed success during the height of the pandemic, for the 52 weeks ending Feb. 27, 2021, per Nielsen data.

Cosmetics and nail products

Internal analgesic total

+8.6%

-6.2%

Acetaminophen

5.0%

Internal Analgesic + Sleep Aid

7.1%

Arthritis

0.3%

Internal Analgesic + Combination -27.7%

Aspirin

4.8%

Menstrual

6.9%

Back/Muscle/Joint

2.1%

Migraine & Headache

-4.5%

Ibuprofen

-13.6%

Naproxen

-9.9%

Source: Nielsen, Total U.S. Convenience data, product share basis for the 52 weeks ending Feb. 27, 2021

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CSTORE DECISIONS •

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Foodservice | Foodservice Technology

C-Stores Accelerate

Foodservice Technology Isabelle Gustafson • Associate Editor

Whether two stores or 12,000, technology is changing the way retailers approach foodservice, as the line between convenience stores and quick-service restaurants is increasingly blurred.

Isabelle Gustafson • Associate Editor

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CSTORE DECISIONS •

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The pandemic accelerated digital growth at convenience retailers of all sizes, in all parts of the country, particularly in the growing foodservice category, with retailers implementing new technology initiatives such as mobile and online ordering, curbside pickup, delivery, drive-through and more.

In March, 7-Eleven, with 12,000 c-stores in North America, announced its first Laredo Taco Co. drivethrough restaurant, located in Dallas at 7-Eleven’s newest Evolution Store — the third such store in Dallas and the sixth in the U.S. These stores act as testing grounds that allow the company to learn what resonates with its customers and apply this information to new and existing locations.

The newest store is one of a growing number to offer delivery and mobile checkout. With the 7Rewards loyalty program, customers can skip the checkout counter and pay for their purchases on their phone. In addition to its proprietary 7NOW

delivery app, 7-Eleven has a presence on numerous third-party delivery platforms.

The new store marks the chain’s first-ever location to feature a drive-through, which 7-Eleven Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Chris Tanco said went from concept to execution in just a few months.

“The Laredo Taco Co. drive-through is a testament of 7-Eleven’s ability to innovate — and innovate fast,” said Tanco. “While the addition of a drive-through option had certainly been on our radar with a steadily growing portfolio of restaurant concepts, it became even more critical for us during the pandemic.”

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May 2021 • CSTORE DECISIONS

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In March, 7-Eleven opened its first Laredo Taco Co. drive-through restaurant, located in Dallas at its newest Evolution Store.

THE QSR SPACE

Laredo Taco Co. is known for its authentic tacos served on flour tortillas that are made from scratch, as well as its fresh salsa bar with a wide selection of salsas and pico de gallo.

The concept is a great example of the blurred line between c-stores and quick-service restaurants (QSR). For 7-Eleven, Tanco said, this evolution comes naturally; after all, the c-store chain started out offering groceries from an ice dock during hours when local grocery stores were closed.

“Today’s need — and opportunity — is in the QSR space,” he said. Every Evolution Store includes one of 7-Eleven’s restaurant concepts — Laredo Taco Co. or Raise the Roost Chicken & Biscuits. And it plans to open nearly 150 new restaurants this year.

“There’s a battle for market share in the QSR industry, and I believe 7-Eleven is well-positioned to enter the fray in a big way,” Tanco said. “In the age of COVID-19, we have seen an increase in traffic as customers choose to stop at neighborhood 7-Eleven stores over big-box retailers for convenient, safe shopping.”

As 7-Eleven evaluates the success of its first drivethrough, he said, it will explore scaling the concept to additional markets in the future.

On the other end of the c-store size spectrum, Kansas City, Mo.-based FavTrip, which operates two locations and has a third planned for this year, has featured drive-throughs since its inception, but the concept has never been as popular as it is today, said FavTrip President Babir Sultan.

The c-store chain is big on technology, he said, and recently adopted Vroom Delivery’s new conveniencefocused third-party fulfillment program, using a mix of third-party fulfillment provided by DoorDash as well as by store employees.

“We see it as a big win, Sultan said, “and it’s a good differentiator for us when it comes to competition as well because instead of competing at price, now you’re competing about services offered.”

The busiest times of day for FavTrip’s delivery orders are early, from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., he said, as well as in the evenings when customers are getting off work, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nearly every in-store item is available for delivery.

FavTrip’s current stores do a big coffee business; they recently launched a subscription program. But the c-store chain is gearing up for an enhanced foodservice offer at its third location in Grandview, Mo. (part of the Kansas City metropolitan area), which will become its flagship location. The new store will measure 4,000 square feet — twice the size of the other two.

Sultan’s confident that a new foodservice program will add value for customers, especially when coupled with FavTrip’s existing drive-through and delivery options.

As always, he said, “we’re continuing to explore any and all technologies that come our way.” CSD

fast facts: • C-stores have been adding drive-through locations and expanding delivery options during the pandemic.

• As c-stores double down on food, the line between convenience stores and quick-service restaurants continues to blur.

FavTrip offers drive-throughs, as well as delivery through Vroom Delivery’s convenience-focused third-party fulfillment program.

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Foodservice | Chef’s Corner

Eagle Stop’s Siron Talks

Foodservice Strategy Missouri-based Eagle Stop c-stores are coming out of the pandemic with an even stronger foodservice offer, thanks to new menu items, great equipment and an appetite for growth.

Isabelle Gustafson • Associate Editor

Springfield, Mo.-based Gier Oil Co.’s Eagle Stop takes foodservice seriously, and its extensive menu is evidence of that.

Depending on the size of the location, its 50-plus c-stores’ menus may feature breaded-chicken sandwiches, roller-grill sausages, freshly made sushi, teriyaki chicken and fried rice, freshly baked biscuits for biscuits and gravy, and quarter-pound 100% all angus-beef bacon cheeseburgers. Plus, its On the Fly pizza program features freshly baked crusts, fresh mozzarella cheese and authentic Italian ingredients.

Ultimately, Eagle Stop Food Service Director Jon Siron, one of CStore Decisions’ 2020 40 Under 40 c-store leaders to watch, is passionate about foodservice, serving his communities and redefining ‘gas station food,’ one meal at a time.

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Jon Siron, food service director for Gier Oil Co.’s Eagle Stop c-stores cstoredecisions.com

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Foodservice | Chef’s Corner

Read on to learn more about Eagle Stop’s upcoming offers, Siron’s go-to foodservice equipment and his thoughts on the future of convenience foodservice.

CStore Decisions (CSD): Can you tell me about any new or upcoming foodservice offerings since we last spoke?

Jon Siron (JS): We are about to launch our new limited-time offer (LTO) Seasonal Salads. We have The Cheffy, a base house salad with locally sourced organic carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers, topped with fresh-cut ham, turkey and smoked bacon; Hail Caesar, our house Caesar salad; The Boujee, a fancy spring mix salad with artichokes, toasted pecans, cranberries, feta and grilled chicken; The Red White and BOOM! — a lovely summer salad with strawberries, blueberries, grilled chicken and feta; and The Buff Chick Salad, with bacon, chicken, bleu cheese crumbles, cheddar, buffalo sauce and a pinch of lettuce, to keep it ‘healthy’ — ha!

We are also hard at work in the kitchen finishing recipes for a new line of dessert pizza offerings from our On the Fly pizza program. I can’t tell much, but I’ll have s’more info soon.

CSD: Which daypart is Eagle Stop’s busiest, and which holds the most growth potential?

JS: Our bread and butter is in breakfast and lunch; we serve thousands of fresh-made breakfast sandwiches, burritos and biscuits and gravy every day. Whether it’s someone getting off a third shift grabbing some food to take home, or someone fueling their day, we have the privilege of being the place they trust to start (or end) their day.

Our new pizza program is shaping up to be a huge contender.

We are noticing more to-go orders than ever before — it holds the most growth potential for sure. We want to be the household name in our towns, where people can call in or order pizza online for pickup. We are excited to watch it grow.

CSD: In what ways is the pandemic affecting Eagle Stop’s foodservice?

JS: Let’s be real: In rural Missouri, people don’t care much about a pandemic. We saw maybe a week of slowdown, but we are all workers, blue-collar folks who work hard and push on because if we don’t, things won’t get done.

We saw more local jurisdiction and enforcement than anything — no roller grills, no self-serve, masking, etc. Otherwise, we were already pre-packaging our food, so there wasn’t much difference.

Pricing certainly is affecting certain items — beef, pork, even paper goods are hard to source, so we had to take a couple different routes but navigated that quickly and are moving forward.

CSD: What are some must-have pieces of equipment to make c-store foodservice successful in your opinion, and why?

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JS: Walk-in cooler/freezer and a good air induction oven! Every time we rebuild or build a new location, non-negotiables are walk-ins and a new ventless conveyor oven.

Food storage space is something that was never considered in our older locations — gas station food simply wasn’t thought of as an important component to a c-store 20-plus years ago. I have some stores with chest freezers taking up the whole back room; it’s a total waste of space where we could’ve just built correctly and installed the walk-ins.

In this day and age, where foodservice is an essential part of convenience store life, we have to have the storage capacity for our products, and also a good, ventless oven — no hood vent required.

CSD: What’s ahead for Eagle Stop, or for convenience foodservice as a whole?

JS: I am excited to soon move from the corporate office into a test kitchen/office facility adjacent to one of our locations, so I can begin to work on new items and recipes that I will be able to test in said location. I am steering the ship toward an era where we may soon look into building a working commissary to distribute our foodservice products more efficiently and with consistency.

I believe the future looks bright for foodservice in the convenience field. I think companies are finally starting to take it seriously, and I cannot wait to see what the future brings! CSD cstoredecisions.com

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Foodservice Column | Packaging

ELEVATING FOODSERVICE PACKAGING As retailers focus on innovating, packaging is getting a closer look. C-stores have a key opportunity to improve packaging efficiency, branding and appearance to drive food sales as we emerge from the pandemic.

Jessica Williams • Food Forward Thinking LLC

As the pandemic continues, many retailers are doubling down on foodservice as they take the opportunity to update menus, introduce online and/or mobile ordering, as well as delivery and curbside pickup. Savvy c-stores are also considering ways to improve their foodservice packaging, from maximizing branding to upgrading packaging appearance and efficiency.

Here are some best practices convenience stores can use to ensure their packaging is working for them.

First, get bigger with front-of-house packaging. As customers enter the store, maximize the impact of the customer-facing packaging they see.

Is your foodservice or convenience store brand highlighted on your foodservice packaging as well as fountain and coffee cups?

Packaging offers an opportunity to keep your branding in front of customers. Periodically checking in with your marketing team, agency, packaging or sticker providers can really pay off. Talk with these teams about injecting your packaging with fun and relevant copy, logos, colors or pictures, and have everything approved before the next production run.

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By adding branding updates to consumer-facing packaging, you can elevate consumer touchpoints like bags, wrappers, boxes, cups, straws, lids, cutlery and napkins.

CONSIDER CUSTOMER NEEDS

But before making major changes to packaging, it’s crucial to consider the customer journey and needs.

Can I tell you a quick story? Spoiler alert: It ends in failure.

I once had the opportunity to improve the quality and selection of a line of graband-go sandwiches. While we improved the taste and variety of the lineup, we also “upgraded” the packaging to fit in with our newer branding style, colors and materials. We wanted these sandwiches to come

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Foodservice Column | Packaging

across as a bit more upscale and premium than the old lineup — which, truly, they were. But we made one unfortunate mistake: We didn’t consider the customer journey to the experience of actually selecting an item.

The customer wants — NEEDS! — each package to look different. When we eliminated the colors that were off-brand, we unknowingly eliminated the one thing that was helping customers to quickly find their selection in a sea of browns and whites and upscale packaging.

Did we see sales increase? No. It was not until we re-worked the packaging and added back colors to differentiate each item that we saw sales bounce back and our consumer complaints go away. So, the story does have a happy ending — but with lessons learned.

MAXIMIZE EFFICIENCY

Increase the number of jobs your packaging can do for you. Did you know that on a standard square foil or paper wrapper, there are nine locations to place a product name or logo?

Follow along with me: four corners, four edges and one center location. The wrapper can be folded so that the correct product name displays on top.

Do you even carry nine sandwiches?

It is possible to use one single SKU to wrap perhaps every single item in a product line.

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CSTORE DECISIONS •

May 2021

Here is an opportunity to move from two or three packaging SKUs down to one, shave seconds off sandwich make times as employees don’t have to search for multiple wrappers, and save storage space with one single case of packaging.

MINIMIZE BOH WASTE

In the back of house (BOH), minimize the cost and environmental impact of packaging that never even sees the front of house. By asking employees about the major sources of excessive inner packaging and trash, you may find there is a “foodservice” case pack that better fits your needs and is less expensive than retail packs. You may also reach out to distributors and manufacturers and offer to partner on testing reduced inner packaging, which ultimately will save costs with packaging and even transportation fuel.

Most importantly, don’t fall into the trap of all-or-nothing thinking. A few small steps to minimize trash and maximize messaging is worthwhile.

Whether you decide to broadcast your initiatives to the public or not, even a few quiet steps in a positive direction are still positive.

Jessica Williams founded Food Forward Thinking LLC as a consultancy to meet the operational demands of foodservice in restaurants, convenience and groceries.

She can be reached at Jess@FoodForwardThinking.com.

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2021

Tech Innovation

Awards In conjunction with Stuzo, CStore Decisions recognizes c-store chains going above and beyond with technology initiatives in three specific areas — connected commerce, hyper-personalization and cross-channel engagement.

Erin Del Conte • Executive Editor

CStore Decisions partnered with Stuzo, an activation and commerce technology company, to recognize convenience store chains taking major strides in technology adoption, with specific focus on initiatives related to three categories: connected commerce, hyper-personalization and cross-channel engagement efforts. These are three technology trends that have accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In fact, Stuzo found that more than 20% of convenience store retailers have added curbside pickup and contactless payment options to reduce friction and make the shopping experience more convenient — and safe — for customers in the past year.

For the purposes of this study, Stuzo examined the technology initiatives of the top 50 (by location count) company-owned and operated convenience store chains to determine those leading the way in each of the aforementioned categories.

Only chains that agreed to participate in the research program and supplied proprietary information were included for consideration. Major oil fuel brands have not been included in the research because fuel marketers don’t always have full control over the backcourt and programs compared to company-operated locations. The research was conducted in Q1 of 2021. Thank you to all those who participated.

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cstoredecisions.com

May 2021 • CSTORE DECISIONS

59

Tech Innovation Awards

THE AWARDS Category: Contactless Payment

Winners: It’s a tie! Pilot Flying J and TravelCenters of America The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed retailers to introduce new contactless and frictionless payment options. “Providing customers with choice and flexibility in how they pay and in last-mile services (i.e. curbside pickup, local delivery) makes the shopping experience more convenient, provides retailers an opportunity to collect valuable data and enables retailers to provide a more personalized customer experience,” said Sandra Sydlik, marketing specialist at Stuzo.

“Pilot Flying J’s myRewards program and TravelCenters of America’s TruckSmart app provide customers with a more convenient way to engage with their brand,” said Sydlik.

Giving customers choices and flexibility in how they engage with your chain is key in today’s marketplace.

“Pilot Flying J and TravelCenters of America have done an exceptional job of providing professional drivers with contactless payments capabilities to create COVID-safe checkout options at the pump, more ways to earn points and rewards and a comprehensive strategy to build personal relationships with customers,” Sydlik said.

At Pilot Flying J, customers can pay using the mobile wallet in the myRewards Plus app, which supports credit cards and fleet cards. Contactless capabilities include tap and pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, mobile fueling for commercial diesel, the ability to make mobile reservations for commercial truck parking and mobile shower reservations for professional drivers.

“As a result of COVID-19, consumer behaviors rapidly changed, and we’ve seen the use of cash continue to decline as mobile and contactless payments become easier to use and customers become more comfortable with contactless payments,” said Tyler Tanaka, vice president, digital & loyalty for Pilot Flying J, which has more than 1,000 retail and fueling locations across 44 states and Canada.

“Pilot Flying J is always looking to expand rewards and provide more value in the myRewards Plus app,” Tanaka said. “A big part of this involves integrating new technology capabilities to drive future innovation based on customer feedback.”

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TravelCenters of America (TA) enhanced its TruckSmart app to include more contactless payment methods such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, gift cards, fleet cards and private-label cards, and it launched a new contactless payment method: PumpSmart, an app upgrade that allows professional drivers to start the diesel pump and pay for transactions via their smartphones. Drivers can also reserve showers, unlock the shower doors and reserve parking spaces right from the TruckSmart app — and redeem UltraOne loyalty points.

“TravelCenters of America is in the midst of a major company transformation, and we’re focused on enhancing the entire travel center experience for all who visit us.

We’re hyper-focused on maximizing convenience, which includes contactless payments and ensuring we have all the services and items consumers are looking for while on the road,” said Sue Smolenski, vice president marketing at TA, which has more than 270 locations across 44 states and Canada. “Consumers have choices; we will continue to be forward-thinking and anticipate the needs of those who visit us. We want to allow our customers to interact with us in ways they want to.”

Smolenski noted that U.S. customers today are more concerned about health due to COVID-19, including concerns over touching surfaces and handling cash.

“We recognized that consumers across the nation are asking for more contactless payments as a way to minimize touch points. We’re adapting to better serve their needs,” she said. “Enhancing our TruckSmart mobile app with more contactless payment options (including PumpSmart) allows us to help minimize downtime for drivers, enabling them to get back on the road faster and more efficiently.”

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Tech Innovation Awards

Category: Hyper-Personalization

Winner: Kwik Trip Runner Up: Casey’s

The days of one-size-fits-all loyalty marketing are behind us; today’s customers want offers and rewards tailored to their unique needs. Retailers are driving customer loyalty by hyper-personalizing their offers and rewards. Stuzo defines hyper-personalization as intelligently leveraging behavioral, transactional and preferential data to optimize customer experiences in real time, creating personally and contextually relevant value on a one-toone level, Sydlik explained.

“One-size-fits-all loyalty mechanics are not working anymore. It is important to focus on delivering the right message through the right channel at the right time to make the customer feel valued and appreciated,” Sydlik said. “Constantly delivering value to customers is a challenge but necessary to retaining customers and growing your share of their wallets.”

Hyper-personalization is a trend on Kwik Trip’s radar in 2021. The chain is already making strides in customizing the experiences c-store customers have using its digital and rewards channels.

“Kwik Trip sets a great example for providing customers a personalized experience via multiple channels,” said Sydlik. Delivering the correct message at the ideal time through the right channel — making the customer feel special and appreciated is key to standing out among competitors, she added.

Stuzo pointed out that Kwik Trip has a lot of ‘low-hanging fruit’ when it comes to personalization options that are already paying dividends.

Today, Kwik Trip is focused on taking advantage of these opportunities, while investigating the next level of personalization. At present, this includes personalizing the products it promotes, how it communicates to the user and the value the user receives. Kwik Trip fuels data for personalization from its rewards program, which includes location data, purchase history and a variety of different demographic-type data.

“When our guests engage with us through Kwik Rewards, they can expect a number of personalized experiences, including the offers or incentives they receive along with the various types of communications they’ll see about those offers,” said David Jackson, digital marketing and loyalty manager, Kwik Trip, which operates 750 c-stores in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

The La Crosse, Wis.-based chain has dedicated a lot of effort to increasing its personalization capabilities over the last few years, and it remains a goal for the chain.

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“Long-term, there are many more opportunities to take advantage of from a personalization standpoint, which we expect will increase engagement among our already very active members,” Jackson said. “Not only will this add more value to the program for our guests, but will also allow us as an organization to focus on more messages, promotions and campaigns targeted toward the right audience at the right time.”

Personalization is also a major focus for Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s, which is on a journey to expand its level of personalization from ‘one-to-many’ to ‘one-tosome’ with an eventual goal of reaching ‘one-to-one’ personalization.

“Personalization is the way we create relevance for our guests. If we show our loyalty to our members through those consistent, familiar experiences, they’ll be much more likely to show us their loyalty in return,” said Mike Templeton, director of digital marketing and guest loyalty for Casey’s, which operates 2,200 stores in 16 states.

Casey’s Rewards platform, which it launched in January 2020, is the foundation Casey’s is using to gain data points — such as transactional data and data customers provide like their name, email, zipcode and birthday — to hyper-personalize offers and rewards, as well as the ordering experience. What’s more, customers don’t have to download the mobile app to receive a personalized experience. Casey’s collects data when customers order via the website and can personalize the customer experience based on how many times they have ordered in the past, how many pizzas they’re ordered, etc. Casey’s personalization efforts come to life in the way the chain targets its messaging across channels — using SMS, push notifications, mobile app, mobile payment, mobile ordering, email and the website to engage customers digitally.

In September 2020, Casey’s added curbside pickup to its mobile app, and it has added an ‘I’m here’ button to the app, which notifies the store to bring the order out to the customer’s car. cstoredecisions.com

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Tech Innovation Awards

Category: Cross-Channel Engagement

Winner: Wawa Runner Up: RaceTrac

Retailers today are working to provide a consistent customer experience across channels, offering options in how a customer can engage with their brand. Offering a cross-channel approach to marketing can help improve customer satisfaction and lifetime value, Stuzo reported.

Examples of cross-channel marketing for convenience stores can include drive-through, delivery, kiosk ordering, mobile app-based ordering and payments, ordering options at the pump, car-based apps and in-store or curbside pickup, etc.

Wawa, Pa.-based Wawa was an early adapter of mobile solutions, launching its app in 2015. As the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, Wawa educated customers on its contactless payments and other services and features, running awareness campaigns via email, playing videos at the pump and using social media. Today, Wawa is taking the work its loyalty team has been doing to the next level to improve performance and personalization across channels.

“The pandemic challenged retailers to adapt to changing customer behavior in a matter of months. Wawa was able to react to the changes and seize the opportunity to define the next normal, setting an example for outstanding cross-channel customer experience in the convenience industry,” said Sydlik.

In June 2020, Wawa accelerated plans to add curbside in response to the pandemic. Customers can place an order for curbside pickup within Wawa’s mobile app. Wawa offers designated parking spots for curbside pickup. In January 2021, Wawa introduced its first drive-through location and is set to expand the concept.

“Our customers’ needs are ever-evolving,” said Todd Miller, director of brand strategy and experience for Wawa, which operates over 900 stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C. “Understanding, delighting and fulfilling on those needs are core to who we are and how we approach our all our channels and services, whether digital or physical.”

Overall, Wawa has shifted from traditional channels to more non-traditional channels and expects to see a growth in those non-traditional channels over the next one to two years. The chain is looking to add SMS communication for order-ahead confirmations, as well as introducing more digital and physical channels — like drive-through — in the future as usage grows.

Atlanta-based RaceTrac Petroleum is also doing a superior job of cross-channel engagement. RaceTrac, 64

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May 2021

which operates 560 stores in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Tennessee, communicates with customers via its mobile app, email, social media and at the pump, and it has plans to expand into SMS communication.

In April 2020, RaceTrac introduced mobile ordering, allowing customers to place an order 24/7 and pick up the order within 30 minutes from a grab-and-go box.

RaceTrac also offers a pass-through window to cater to customers who prefer not to enter the store.

RaceTrac is considering the various channels for engagement and mapping those against the customer journey to determine which channel to use at what point in the customer experience, as well as working to understand which channel the customer prefers in order to provide a more personalized experience.

“Our guests lead busy lives and are constantly on the go, so we need to meet guests where they are and give them what they need for a seamless interaction with RaceTrac,” said Lanna O’Connor, director of loyalty and digital marketing for RaceTrac. “Whether that’s through tailoring our marketing communications to our guests’ channel of choice or providing options for delivery, online ordering, self-checkout or drive-through pick-up, we want to offer our guests a quick and convenient experience to make their lives simpler and more enjoyable.” CSD cstoredecisions.com

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Technology Column | Data Security

WHAT COMES AFTER

OUTDOOR EMV?

As more retailers become EMV-compliant at the pump, point-to-point encryption comes into focus.

Patrick Raycroft • W. Capra Consulting Group

The April 2021 deadline for implementing EMV at the pump is now in the rearview mirror.

Ahead of the final deadline, which was extended from October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the c-store industry substantially grew its ability to offer outdoor EMV acceptance.

Now, retailers now must turn their focus to implementing another technology at the dispensers to further reduce risk of credit card acceptance.

C-store and fuel retailers now look to be prime targets for cyber-attacks focused on extracting sensitive payment card data, as shown by a recent spate of attacks in the vertical.

Despite common misconception, enabling outdoor EMV acceptance doesn’t prevent an operator from becoming the next retailer on the news because of a wide-scale credit card breach. While a strong mechanism for preventing counterfeit fraud, EMV solutions do not secure underlying payment card data itself — and cyber criminals are well aware of this critical vulnerability.

Similar to EMV enablement, retailers are unfortunately behind in implementing solutions to secure payment card data. Most retailers in other verticals have implemented one or both of two separate but linked cryptography-based technologies used to protect card data: 66

CSTORE DECISIONS •

May 2021

• Point-to-point encryption (P2PE): In some implementations referred to as end-to-end encryption (E2EE), P2PE encrypts payment card data within the payment terminal, ensuring data is protected until it is decrypted at a secure point abovesite (oftentimes at a retailer’s payment provider). P2PE protects card data during payment processing.

• Tokenization: Tokenization complements P2PE solutions by replacing payment card data with less valuable tokens, which can then be stored and used for future payment processing.

Tokenization protects card data following payment processing.

These two technologies in combination render payment card data near worthless in the event of a breach of site-level of corporate systems. Accordingly, implementing P2PE and tokenization transfers/reduces the substantial risk of processing clear-text payment card data.

So, given the risk mitigation benefits, why haven’t c-store retailers implemented these technologies?

As with most site technology, implementing P2PE in convenience and fuel presents challenges beyond those faced in other verticals: • Solution availability: Payment solutions in other verticals have been supporting P2PE for several years. However, fragmentation in dispenser hardware, payment software and payment processors continues to challenge providers in delivering fit-for-purpose P2PE solu-

tions to the c-store market. While some solutions are available, these solutions do not currently cover the entire convenience and fuel market.

• Deployment: Deploying P2PE requires distributing both software changes and encryption keys to sites. Even today, many retail sites do not have technology in place to remotely deploy changes to payment terminals on dispensers — meaning that operators may yet again have to send technicians to their locations to implement P2PE. Still, c-store retailers are moving forward with implementing P2PE at the dispenser. For those looking to start, ask existing solution providers to answer key initial questions: • What P2PE solution(s) is certified on my payment processing stack (dispenser hardware, payment software and payment processor)?

• What remote management capabilities can remotely deploy changes required to enable P2PE? By starting this process, c-store retailers can move closer to removing payment card data from their environments. These technologies reduce potential impacts of cybersecurity breaches — oftentimes, breach costs, brand reputation impacts, that can run into the tens of millions of dollars. It’s critical that P2PE becomes the focus of today.

Patrick Raycroft, Convenience and Energy vertical lead at W. Capra Consulting Group, can be reached at ptraycroft@ wcapra.com or visit www.capraplus.com.

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Technology Column | Future Tech

Can You See the ROI Through the

Looking Glass?

As retailers weigh future tech solutions from frictionless checkout to beacons and biometrics, potential return on investment and the likelihood of customer adoption are key considerations.

Frank Beard • Director of Special Projects and Safe Shop

Each year, it seems a new retail technology arrives on the scene ready to change everything. The challenge is sorting through the hype to determine if it has the potential to deliver a return on investment (ROI).

Remember beacons? When they became popular beginning in 2013, beacons promised robust business intelligence and the ability to target messages to consumers who walked by specific coolers or endcaps. This seemed like good news for consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies as they could presumably communicate with customers at the very last stages of the consumer journey.

But it didn’t take long to discover problems.

As one former advertising technology executive explained privately, Android smartphones initially had Bluetooth issues that limited adoption. This restricted beacons to customers with iPhones.

Beacons were also problematic as signals sometimes overlapped, consumers might get multiple messages about different products all at once, and the arrangement of coolers or other hardware 68

CSTORE DECISIONS •

May 2021

might lead to blocked signals.

The consumer experience was also confusing — and sometimes creepy. It’s one thing to push a notification to a smartphone inviting a fuel customer to come inside, but it’s quite another to say that you noticed they’re in the candy aisle and might want to know about a discount on a Snickers bar.

“Convenience retailers have to deal with a general audience, but technology works best when the application is as narrow as possible,” explained Jesse Hirsh, a futurist and the author of the “Metaviews” e-newsletter. “Beacons are a great example.

Why would you invest in a technology that won’t work with the majority of the people coming into your store?”

As Hirsh explained, beacons also assumed smartphones commanded more of our attention than cstoredecisions.com

Technology Column | Future Tech

they actually do. This led to a type of in-store marketing that never truly manifested.

CHECKOUT-FREE RETAIL

Amazon captured everyone’s attention when they opened the first AmazonGo store to the general public in early 2018. Beyond the convenience of the “just walk out” experience, many speculated about the business intelligence implications of their checkout-free technology.

Having spoken with many vendors in this space over the past six months, I don’t get the sense that business intelligence is the core argument being used to explain the potential for ROI. Rather, vendors often speak of labor efficiencies, the ability to handle high throughput without additional resources, and its potential to integrate into new formats where traditional checkouts prove problematic — such as airports, event venues and certain types of corporate environments.

It’s not that these platforms can’t do incredible things from a business intelligence perspective. They’re certainly more capable than beacons ever were. As one checkout-free vendor expressed privately, beacons

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CSTORE DECISIONS •

May 2021

were just another set of sensors that were difficult to scale. Computer vision, in comparison, offers a much higher degree of precision.

But as convenience retailers move from the test store phase to actual adoption of this technology, is business intelligence where they’ll see an ROI, or will this become just another source of data exhaust that adds friction to their days?

“I see the value of this technology if you’re Amazon,” said Hirsh. “Their angle is the ‘vertically integrated data warehouse.’ They benefit because they have a ludicrous amount of information about that individual and a relationship that they want to monopolize. But if you’re 7-Eleven or Circle K, how much of a relationship do you really have with your customer? What’s the value of that data?”

BIOMETRIC TECHNOLOGY

Another hot new area of focus is biometric payment systems and other technologies. Unlike beacons, this has the potential to drive significant improvements in convenience and efficiency. But there’s a catch: Will Americans overcome privacy concerns and embrace it?

While Alibaba’s Hema stores, based in China, have offered payment by facial recognition for a few years at this point, many Americans have privacy concerns that might limit adoption of similar technology in the U.S. As far back as 2019, Pew Research found that 79% of adults were very or somewhat concerned about how their data is being used.

But some companies are already making moves. Los Angeles-based tech company PopID has created a payment network that enables fast, devicefree payments using facial recognition at restaurant and retail kiosks.

Self-order kiosk provider Bite uses facial recognition to enable quick reorders on its quick-service restaurant kiosks, and Amazon even added the Amazon One palm-reading payment technology to its original store in Seattle.

According to Hirsh, this may be less of a concern at convenience retailers, as many customers are already used to being on camera. The challenge is to deploy it in a way that isn’t creepy.

But Hirsh is quick to point out that facial recognition is not just a utilitarian technology. It can also be used creatively to make the store experience fun and exciting. Imagine a store that flashed text on a screen, calling out customers by name, saying that they’re a “rock star” or providing a quirky, humorous greeting that’s aligned with certain brand personalities.

“Neuroscience backs this up,” said Hirsh. “We make decisions based on emotion. There are definitely ways you can make people feel good and trigger the kinds of emotional responses you want them to have at a point when they’re about to spend money in your store. The retailer who does this well is going to cash in.”

Frank Beard is the director of the store safety certification program Safe Shop and the director of special projects at CStore Decisions. Follow Frank on Twitter (@frankbeard) or LinkedIn (Linkedin.com/in/ frankbeard). Learn more about Safe Shop at Safeshopassured.com.

cstoredecisions.com

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: During these challenging times, extraordinary leadership and informed decisions are more important than ever, especially when it comes to convenience retailing. With this in mind, plan to join the NATIONAL ADVISORY GROUP (NAG) and the YOUNG EXECUTIVES ORGANIZATION (YEO) for the NAG/YEO Spring Leadership Series. This fivepart series will focus on key areas that will help c-store retailers boost sales and profits.

MAY 19 /

Exclusive Research from partner CivicScience. Topic: How Consumer Behavior has Changed During Covid.

MAY 26 /

The Impact of Delivery and Online Sales: How do we reach new food customers?

JUNE 2 /

How to Create a Next-Generation Store.

Everything from EMV compliance to foodservice is forcing retailers to innovate and future-proof their stores to maximize revenue streams.

JUNE 9 /

The Future of Tobacco: Reshaping the back bar amidst legislative threats and PMTA.

JUNE 16 / Fuel Disruption: How a new administration will impact the fuel market by mandating electric vehicles and flex fuels.

PRODUCTShowcase

Fuel Management System Warren Rogers introduced the latest version of its fuelWRAp application, which uses real-time data and leverages the flexibility and smart analytics of the cloud to help fuel retailers continuously track fuel inventory — even at the most complex, highthroughput sites. The latest edition of fuelWRAp features a new and intuitive user dashboard, simplified menu options, detailed diagnostics, insightful performance metrics and exception-based reporting, all supported by analyst teams, directly assigned to each client.

Warren Rogers Associates www.warrenrogers.com

Seasoned Potato Wedges Savory, red-battered seasoned McCain Redstone Canyon Skin-On Regular 8-Cut Wedges are a great addition to any ready-to-eat hot foods menu. The red batter coating provides better overall flavor with improved visual appeal, and it adds extra crispiness in a format that holds incredibly well. These wedges are great as a snack on the go or as an add-on to any combo.

High-Quality, Consistent Melons Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc.’s MAG.nificent Melon provides consumers with consistency; each melon meets the highest standards for appearance, flavor, texture and aroma. It can be identified by its rich golden outer shell, and the juicy inner flesh of the fruit offers fiber, vitamin C and carotene. The higher Brix content creates an extra-sweet flavor for a more delightful-tasting cantaloupe.

Additionally, the MAG.nificent Melon was developed to have a smaller seed cavity.

Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc. www.delmontefresh.com

McCain Foodservice

www.mccainusafoodservice.com/channels/c-store

Cannabigerol Cigarette Several months after a successful soft launch, Essence Smokes is introducing the first cannabigerol (CBG) cigarette brand into the international market, offering consumers a 100% natural, tobacco-free and additive-free smokable product. Essence Smokes cigarettes are crafted from hemp rolling paper.

Their natural filters biodegrade in less than a week upon reaching the ocean and within a few weeks in landfills. Essence Smokes rely entirely on a high-CBG hemp strain for its CBG. No extraction. No sprayed distillate. Just chemical-free, high-CBG hemp.

Essence Smokes

www.essencesmokes.com

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cstoredecisions.com

CStoreDecisions.com is geared toward C-Store retailers, convenience store suppliers, and distributors looking to stay abreast of industry trends, new product offerings and category management best practices.

CStoreDecisions .com Making Connections that Drive Business

We use the latest media technology, delivering content the way you want it: print issues, digital issues, enewsletters, and videos.

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Browse, bookmark, share and interact with the most relevant industry content and people in the market.

Thank you to our Key Partners:

PRODUCTShowcase

Diesel Pump Insulation The DEFender was designed to insulate diesel pumps containing DEF to prevent the fluid from freezing. This product has proven to be an effective and cost-efficient solution to the problems that arise when DEF is exposed to cold temperatures. Flexible, durable, lightweight and easy to install.

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Cellphone Accessories Flavored Water With Benefits vitaminwater announced the addition of two new flavors: look and gutsy. New vitaminwater gutsy is watermelon-peach flavored, with five grams of prebiotic fiber that aids in digestion to help support gut health.

And vitaminwater look is blueberryhibiscus flavored, with vitamin A and lutein to support eye health.

The Coca-Cola Co.

www.coca-colacompany.com

KickPOWER — the one-stop for your cell accessories needs — is vertically integrated, with factory-direct pricing. KickPOWER controls the complete fulfillment chain, from manufacturing, import, distribution and in-store merchandising. All products are MFI (Apple certified), Android certified and licensed under the Bluetooth SIG. And they are 100% guaranteed; the return/failure rate is under 1%.

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www.kickpower.com Joe White (773) 230-3601 joe@kickpower.com Ricardo Singer (844) 711-2345 ricardo@kickpower.com

Limited-Edition Chicken Alfredo Pizza Hunt Brothers Pizza is bringing back its Chicken Alfredo Pizza.

Made on Hunt Brothers Pizza’s original crust, the Chicken Alfredo Pizza features a creamy Alfredo sauce, a blend of 100% natural part-skim mozzarella, natural white cheddar and aged Asiago cheeses and all-natural chicken breast and is topped with the company’s Just Rite Spice. Consumers can purchase the Chicken Alfredo Pizza as a large 12-inch whole pizza or a Hunk A Pizza (a fourth of a 12-inch pizza) for a limited time while supplies last.

Hunt Brothers Pizza

www.huntbrotherspizza.com 74

CSTORE DECISIONS •

May 2021

cstoredecisions.com

PRODUCTShowcase

Grain-Free, No-Added-Sugar Cookies Hu’s No Added Sugar Grain-Free Cookies are crispy, mini cookies that come in four flavors: Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Snickerdoodle and Ginger Snap. These cookies are better for you, better for the planet and taste like a cookie should taste — affirming Hu’s position at the forefront of the healthier snacking evolution. Hu No Added Sugar Grain-Free Cookies join a lineup including Hu Chocolate Bars, Hu Chocolate Gems (snacking and baking chocolate), Hu Hunks (chocolatecovered nuts and fruit) and Hu Grain-Free Crackers.

Hu Products

www.hukitchen.com

Limited-Edition Mystery Flavor The Twizzlers brand is launching the first-ever Twizzlers Twists Mystery Flavor. The brand was inspired to ignite a flavorful mystery with this latest innovation, offering a taste so mysterious consumers may have to go through more than a few Twists before they guess right. The Twizzlers brand will be revealing the mystery flavor this summer. The limited-edition flavor is available nationwide beginning this spring for $2.39.

The Hershey Co.

www.thehersheycompany.com

Hard Seltzer With Higher ABV Truly Hard Seltzer announced the launch of Truly Extra Hard Seltzer, a hard seltzer that clocks in at 8% ABV. Truly Extra is now officially available nationwide in two flavors: Black Raspberry and Peach Mango. Truly Extra has one gram of sugar and 220 calories in a 16-ounce can. Truly now has more than 20 different flavors. Prices vary by market.

Truly Hard Seltzer

www.trulyhardseltzer.com

Immunity Boost Elderberry Gummies Support your immune system and feel your best year-round with Hemp Bombs Immunity CBD Gummies. Each bite-sized edible contains 15 milligrams of premium CBD to keep you relaxed and 50 milligrams of elderberry extract to help maintain overall wellness.

Hemp Bombs CBD Gummies contain the highest-quality ingredients and are made at its in-house facilities in the U.S. The suggested retail price is $15 for an eight-count pouch, $55 for a 50-count bottle and $105 for a 100-count bottle.

Hemp Bombs

www.hempbombs.com cstoredecisions.com

May 2021 • CSTORE DECISIONS

75

Classifieds/Ad Index 5-Hour Energy

53

Kooler Ice Vending Machines

51

ADD Systems

63

Krispy Krunchy Chicken

29

Brakebush

49

Loomis Armored US, LLC Mars Wrigley

www.5hourEnergyRetailer.com 800.922.0972 / www.addsys.com www.chickenchampions.com

CB Distributors

6-7

888.824.3256 / www.cbprices.com / www.hempbombs.com / www.naturesscript.com

800.858.3025 / www.kookerice.com/fixmyice 800.290.6097 / www.krispykrunchy.com www.loomis.us/SafePoint

www.neverstopsummering.com

Swedish Match

65

800.367.3677 www.zyn.com www.whiteowlcigar.com www.gamecigars.com

9 21 55

Swisher International

Cover , 79, 80

35

800.874.9720 / www.swisher.com

Texas Pete

11

TexasPeteFoodservice.com/FlavorsForTheRoad

E-Alternative Solutions

27

MasonWays Indestructible Plastics, LLC

77

Trion Industries, Inc.

15

Essentia Water

17

McLane Company, Inc.

47

USA CBD Expo

69

GSK C-Store

43

North American Bancard

76

Vaporlax

23

3

Perfetti Van Melle

37

Vitamin Energy

The Hershey Company

19

Philip Morris USA

2

Invenco

61

Prairie City Bakery, Inc.

33

J&J Snackfoods Corp.

41

Premier Manufacturing, Inc.

67

EalternativeSolutions.com/Leap 877.293.2239 / www.essentiawater.com Scott.F.Breisinger@gsk.com

Gulfcoast

727.449.2296 / www.gulfcoast.com www.HersheySolutions.com 877.515.0939 / www.invenco.com/s/csd www.jjsnackfoodservice.com

Jet Brands

877.822.2214 / JetBrands.net

5

800.837.2881 / www.masonways.com www.mclaneco.com/technology 866.481.4604 / www.nynab.com 800.283.5988

insightsc3m.com

www.pcbakery.com

www.gopremier.com

Safe Shop Assured

www.safeshopassured.com

www.masonways.com cstoredecisions.com

800.444.4665 / www.triononline.com 631.777.3455 / usacbdexpo.com 800.775.8970 / mipodwholesale.com

12-13

800.420.3106 / Sales@VitaminEnergyLLC.com

XCalibur International

31

918.824.0300 / www.xcaliburinternational.com

56-57

800-837-2881 May 2021 • CSTORE DECISIONS

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IndustryPerspective

Reflections on Convenience Retail as We Near the Post-Pandemic Future The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that clean and safe stores, delivering on promises and tech-forward solutions are all key to driving business.

Frank Beard • Director of Special Projects and Safe Shop

I wonder what we’re going to say when we look back at this time in five or 10 years?

I recently had dinner with a few people close to me, and I discovered that they’ve maintained a detailed list of each place they visited outside of the home since the beginning of COVID-19. It lists the date, time, location and granular details such as which gas pumps they touched.

They wanted to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. They were trying to be responsible. As many of us look back on our own behaviors, I’m sure we can point to specific actions that were driven by the same desire — even if they were less extreme.

As we move forward, I also think we’re going to need some time to process what exactly happened over the past year. This was weird. It’s still weird.

I’m full of questions and short on answers, but there are a few things I’m definitely taking away from this experience.

PERCEPTION ISN’T ALWAYS REALITY

Every company tells a story about itself. The problem is that these stories can quickly become fictitious if their veracity goes unchecked.

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CSTORE DECISIONS •

May 2021

Macy’s may speak of high customer satisfaction scores and improved experiences at their department stores, but one only has to walk into one of their disorganized and dated locations to realize that something is fundamentally broken.

With this past year normalizing remote work arrangements, retailers must be diligent about spending time in their stores. This is important for folks at all levels — not just a few leaders at the top.

Vendors, suppliers and agencies also need to spend time shopping and experiencing this industry if they want to keep their finger on its pulse and serve their clients.

CLEAN & SAFE ARE NON-NEGOTIABLE

This past year has only strengthened the arguments for investing in the basics of cleanliness and safety.

Customers are likely to exit this pandemic with heightened expectations.

Perhaps I’m biased because of my involvement with the Safe Shop Assured certification program, but I do believe the bill is coming due for brands that neglect these things. If COVID-19 is a dress rehearsal for a time when challenging headwinds in fuel demand are more pronounced, then retailers are tasked with creating stores capable of standing on

their own with or without fuel. A portfolio full of stores with two-star ratings on Google Maps is a sign that corrective action is needed right now.

MOBILE APPS NEED RELEVANT FUNCTIONALITY

The past few years witnessed a rollout of mobile apps based almost entirely around loyalty solutions, but many of these were unable to help retailers when the pandemic created apprehension about visiting physical stores. They often lacked the functionality for curbside service, delivery and mobile ordering. Even now, some retailers rely on phone calls to initiate curbside orders because their expensive loyalty apps can’t help with that.

Contrast this with the restaurant industry where brands like Domino’s Pizza had a mobile ordering strategy in place nearly a decade ago. Moving forward, retailers need to close this gap and think bigger than push notifications for discounts on soda and chips.

Frank Beard is the director of the store safety certification program Safe Shop and the director of special projects at CStore Decisions. Follow Frank on Twitter (@frankbeard) or LinkedIn (Linkedin.com/ in/frankbeard). Learn more about Safe Shop at Safeshopassured.com.

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